The Voice launches anti-racist football campaign

AFTER TWELVE months of watching the so-called beautiful game descend into a drama full of ugly scenes, the time has come to act.

Black footballers – men and women – are being verbally abused at home and abroad, on pitches and online, by supporters and fellow players, with little consequence.

Even those who don the England shirt are not safe. We all saw the appalling scenes in Serbia which was an almost exact replay of an incident involving former Man City player Nedum Onuoha five years ago.

There’s a more sinister aspect, too. Ahead of the Euros in Poland and Ukraine, black British players were warned against bringing their families for fear of racially-motivated violence.

It’s 2012. Enough is enough.

Attacks on black footballers is an attack on our entire community. The pitch reflects society.

That is why The Voice newspaper today launches its own campaign to bring these issues to the Prime Minister’s front door.

Players may feel pressured to toe the line, but this newspaper has never been afraid to speak its mind.

And we need you, our readers, to join us in this mission.

We are proud supporters of the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign, and congratulate the FA and Premier League clubs that embraced it. We note, too, that The Met has begun to act swiftly in dealing with charges of racial abuse.

But real change – change at the top – is not happening quickly enough and that is where the difference can be made.
After all, until a few months ago when Jamaican-born lawyer Heather Rabbatts CBE was appointed, the FA board was all-white and all-male body.

Can we honestly leave it them to take the lead on this issue? Absolutely not.

There’s always one way to make a difference and that’s by putting up a fight ourselves.

Over the course of the campaign, we will speak with those involved in the game at every level to find out what they think the solutions are.

We will use our findings to lobby the FA and the Government into not only doing the talking, but listening to what those at the heart of this issue have to say, and deliver.